


Once the Sun Rises

by Absolutefandomtrash



Category: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Genre: Alternate Ending- Vampire deaths don't affect that much of the effects, Angst, Book turning of Mina, Dracula's a massive dick, F/M, Mina doesn't really like Dracula all that much, Romance, Spoilers, Unwilling vampire transformation, Vampire jonathan, Van Helsing is more like the book, also they become vampires, idc if the movie wanted Dracula to band Mina I will not have it, my fic my rules, no romance other than Mina/Jonathan, sad vampires, several POV switches because I say so, vampire Mina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-01 11:59:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15773670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Absolutefandomtrash/pseuds/Absolutefandomtrash
Summary: "Did you drink their blood?" "No." The coldness of both that statement and his eye contact with the old man eventually melted away into a guilty look at his plate. "Towards the end. It wasn't-" "There is no such thing as not enough when dealing with the blood of the vampire, friend Jonathan."Or, Jonathan has the same experience as Mina and everyone panics. Unfortunately, what they hoped would happen and what does happen are entirely different things.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I decided to basically ruin the lives of two of my favorite characters of all time. I just got this thought while watching the movie and it grew. So if you guessed from the tags that this won't end well for anyone, you're right!
> 
> I have several feelings about this and the most prominent one is DRACULA AND MINA HAVING A ROMANCE RUINS BOTH THEIR CHARACTER ARCS AND IS DISRESPECTFUL TO JONATHAN, so that isn't happening. If you wanted to read something where that happens, this ain't it.
> 
> Now, enjoy the angst!

Jonathan Harker stayed quiet about his experience in Transylvania whenever asked, only giving brief generalization such as, "The countryside is beautiful," or, "The castle was old." Anyone with the decency to notice the prematurely greying hair framing a pale, gaunt face and dead eyes asked no further questions. Those that did only had more frustration until either they finally relented or were politely shooed away by Mina.

Before their marriage, Mina stayed as close to him as was deemed proper in the public eye, which now made her blood boil whenever she felt judgemental eyes boring into her back while her husband clung to her. They didn't know. They couldn't see the many scars- most of them only starting to heal- littering his body. They couldn't feel his ice-cold hands when he shakily gripped hers so tightly she could feel her pulse against his skin. They couldn't feel or see of even smell the faint aura of death that seemed a part of his being now. They could only see the young couple practically sitting on top of each other. The young woman always touching her husband's back, his hand, the back of his neck. The young man with one hand almost always firmly gripping his wife's waist and often touching his forehead to hers. Let them judge, though it made her angry. She had her Jonathan, and he had his Mina.

Dr. Van Helsing was not one to judge. In fact, he told them it was good that they were more concerned with each other than propriety. They had only recently arrived from Romania when the letter announcing Lucy's death arrived, leaving a distraught Mina and a reply requesting meeting with the professor in its wake. He obliged, and they set the date and time. Mina held her head high at the dirty looks from the other patrons as they made their way over to the table, and she made a point to kiss his jaw before the introductions took place. Jonathan's hand shook more than usual after they sat, and she kept hers on top of it to try warming it up. The awkward small talk thankfully lasted a short amount of time, and she decided to start the conversation they made plans for.

"Was she in pain, Dr. Van Helsing?" The old doctor nodded, eliciting a soft regret-filled groan from Mina.

"She was. Then we cut off her head and burned her body, and now she is not." Mina forced the bile begging to escape from her throat to stay inside and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

"Doctor Van Helsing!" Jonathan exclaimed, offended. "Please!" Mina gave his hand a grateful squeeze. Van Helsing shrugged then turned his attention to her husband.

"Now Jonathan, during you infidelity with them," Jonathan ground his teeth together but thankfully didn't do much else, "did you drink their blood?"

"No." The coldness of both that statement and his eye contact with the old man eventually melted away into a guilty look at his plate. "Towards the end. It wasn't-"

"There is no such thing as not enough when dealing with the blood of the vampire, friend Jonathan." The couple started at the implications of his statement. Any warmth in the room vanished with it, and Mina felt Jonathan going limp in her hand. "I am afraid that all of us will need to work even more quickly if we are to help you as well. Our beloved Lucy's three suitors have helped me so far, but we will need both of you. Especially now that we learned of this unfortunate happening in your lives."

"You believe there is a way to stop... whatever will happen?" The words almost made no sense due to the low volume and trembling of his voice. Van Helsing nodded.

"I believe. I do not know, but I believe that this can be stopped by destroying the monster. But come, let us discuss this in a more private place."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mina gets attacked, Jonathan freaks out about the implications of this, and the rest of the gang is freaked out. From Jonathan's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this won't be the sexy thing that happened in the movie. This is totally not what anyone but Dracula wanted.

The first thing that Jonathan saw was his beautiful wife covered in blood with her neck dripping her own. Even when the disfigured Count attacked then fled, he could only think of the woman on the bed. Covered in blood. The Count's blood. Mixing with her blood in the bitten area. As soon as he had the chance he ran to the bed and pulled her against him, dragging her to the safety of the group while extending a gun. The Count's face twisted into an even more grotesque snarl.

"She," his rasped slowly, as if he had to spell it out, "is my bride... now." Nononono-

"NO!" He yelled and fired.

"NO!" Mina screamed a second after he pulled the trigger. Van Helsing started to yell out something in Latin. It made Jonathan's head hurt, and as soon as Van Helsing's cross was even with him, he staggered away from it. No one noticed, however. They were too preoccupied with the sudden appearance of rats. Mina buried her face into his shoulders as they swarmed out of the room, and he stroked her hair weakly. His head was pounding now, especially since Van Helsing was pacing and waving the cross around frantically; something about that thing made him sick. Mina seemed to notice and pulled him in some direction. He didn't know. He couldn't think. His vision blurred to the point that he couldn't tell what colors he was seeing, and then he all but collapsed on the bed. Some stench filled the room. Garlic. That made things worse. Mina stroked his hair and gripped his hand.

"Jonathan," she half-sobbed. She was close enough her voice didn't mix with the others'. "Jonathan darling, what's wrong?" He could feel her warm breath on his forehead, which felt incredibly cold. Other people moved closer and said something. He didn't know what. But the cross was closer, and he couldn't think. Mina whispered her question again, but this time he could smell the blood on her breath and his mouth involuntarily opened. She took that to mean he needed to say something, and leaned forward. Almost every rational thought left his head as the stench filled his senses, and he lifted his head before he heard a shriek, and the blood smell was gone. He groaned and almost opened his eyes, but the cross appeared directly in front of his face- somehow perfectly clear- and threw him back onto the bed. Something, /something/ about it was hurting him, restraining him, make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop- "JONATHAN!!!" Mina screamed, and suddenly the cross was gone, and the blood smell was back. Closer to his face. Part of it dripped onto his mouth. He couldn't help it. He needed it. He grabbed her and pulled her blood-covered face as close to his mouth as possible, licking at it and scraping at her sensitive cheeks with his teeth. She screamed again and hit at his chest, but he couldn't stop he couldn't stop he couldn't stop he couldn't stop. Suddenly he let go. He let go and shoved her away from him. Shoved her away from him and threw himself off the bed sobbing. She was screaming and crying, and everyone else was backed away apart from Van Helsing. He sat next to Jonathan and placed the cross next to him; he whimpered and curled in to a ball. The cross was placed even closer, with Van Helsing muttering things in German and English and Latin in a garbled mess. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he felt his entire body shaking. The cross was placed on his chest, and immediately his throat tightened up. Wheezing. Couldn't breathe. Hurts. Take it off take it off take it off... everything went black.

He woke up with a headache and in a different room. Mina practically jumped on him once he sat up, and he buried his face in her disheveled hair. The blood was gone. She was here. It was over. Both of them started crying and clung to each other for dear life. The reality of what had transpired hit him: shortly after being attacked by the Count, her own husband all but did the same thing. Because he consumed those women's blood, too. He let out a groan and kissed her cheek, her forehead, her lips.

"Mina, I am so, so sorry," he whispered. "I didn't want to do that." She kissed his jaw tenderly, as if someone was glaring or he needed to be brought back from the nightmares of Castle Dracula. For comfort.

"I know. I know, darling, I know." She stroked his face and looked sadly at him. "And now we have both been tainted and made unclean in the eyes of God." 

"Yes." No use in arguing. They both were on the path to become vampires, unless they killed the Count and his... whatever those women were. "We'll find a way. We'll find a way to stop this."

"And if we don't? If there is no way of stopping this?" He held her shoulders and stared directly into her eyes.

"I promise that either I or one of the others wil cut off your head. And my own. If we are saved, we are free. If we aren't, we will free ourselves. Together." She started to sob at that and hugged him.

"Till death do us part."

"Till death do us part."

"I love you, Jonathan."

"I love you, Mina."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What happened at the castle? When you drank those women's blood?"
> 
> Jonathan finally tells Mina everything, and things escalate quickly.

"Jonathan." The middle of the night. Neither of them had slept.

"Yes?"

"What happened at the castle? When you drank those women's blood?"

Jonathan sighed. He knew that he would have to say eventually, but it still made him want to close himself off. No more time for that. Everything needed to be known if they were to progress anywhere.

"The first time they attacked, they didn't get very far before the Count stopped them and gave them... something else." He cringed at the memory of the screaming baby but forced himself to continue. "After a while he just stopped thinking of me as valuable, I suppose, and let them do whatever they wanted. They always stopped before I reached the point of death, but I wasn't able to move or do anything when they finished. Towards the time I escaped they made the smallest cuts in their wrists and made me drink. Covered the rest of my face so I could only breathe through my mouth. The smallest amounts of blood came with the first few breaths I took, then they went back to what they were doing." Mina found his hand in the darkness and squeezed it. It felt less warm than usual.

"Do you hear them? Do they say things to you?" He turned to face his wife.

"Yes. And you?" She nodded.

"Horrible, horrible things. I can't shut him out and have to listen to him threaten you and everyone and call me his beloved and true bride. It makes me sick, and he laughs when I try to stop him."

"They mostly taunt me. Tell me that I will always return to them in the end. Say they look forward to my next visit. And laugh."

"Did you want it? Did you feel like you needed to want it and so you did what that feeling told you?"

"Yes. As soon as I sat down in that room I was paralyzed. I couldn't stop anything. I didn't want to. I just wanted to do whatever they wanted me to, and they wanted me to be still and let them drain me." He screwed his eyes up at that memory. "And it was the most wonderful feeling when I did."

"He told me about his wife," she mumbled. "And how I looked exactly like her. And how she was his world and everything and I could see what he was talking about and he used that to make me feel sorry for him. Then he turned that into acting heartbroken over wanting to hurt me and I felt like I could do nothing but hurt myself first because that's what he wanted." A single tear rolled down her cheek. "I loved it, too."

Jonathan kissed her forehead tenderly. Both of them had been marked and tricked into enjoying what they hated being done to them. He wanted to stop everything and take away her hurt, but he couldn't. She rubbed his hair then kissed his jaw again. Her fingers moved to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. He responded by kissing her face down to her lips ten back up to her forehead. And let his hands settle on his waist. Her mouth moved down to just below his jaw to his Adam's apple to his jugular. Right above a particularly sensitive scar. He let his head fall back and shivered while she kept her lips there.

His hands quickly removed her nightclothes as hers removed his. Less removing than ripping off. Neither of them cared. He gently- for they were still being gentle with their touches- pulled her off of him and kissed her neck as well. Her jugular only had one marking, and that was on the other side of her neck. He didn't have to worry about that. He licked from her jaw to halfway down the vein before kissing there vigorously. He could feel her pounding heartbeat just under her skin and wanted to dig through it and touch it unprotected. 

She was the first one to use roughness, scratching his back with her long nails. He hissed in pain and felt small beads of blood already running down into the sheets. He responded by moving to her shoulder and biting down hard enough to break the sling. They continued to scratch and bit and in general hurt the other one through the whole ordeal until they both collapsed in a sweaty heap back in their original positions. 

Jonathan felt dirty. He had never begun to dream of doing that to his wife, yet he did. He didn't know why he did. Much like he didn't know why he lunged at her in an attempt to drink her blood. He couldn't stop himself, but the only thing different with this was that she wanted it, too... Did she? He couldn't tell wether or not she did. Or if he did. Or if they both did. When they were attacked, they both thought they wanted it, but they were forced to want it. He was more detached from humanity than she was. Could he have possibly done it unconsciously? "Jonathan," Mina whispered, stopping his train of thought. He found her hand in the darkness and squeezed it. "Did you want that? Really want that?" He heard the rumbling in her voice. The fear. The same fear that he had. He squeezed her hand again. "I was wondering if you wanted it as well. I know that I did." "I did, too. I don't know why we did that, but I know I wanted it." "Is this what we'll become? If there is nothing that can be stopped? Will we be diving at each other in order to-" "Shhhh." He pulled her close and stroked her hair. "Please love, don't say things like that." She started crying again and firmly planted her face in his shoulder. He stroked her hair and kissed her cheek and repeated everything he told her when they reunited in the Romanian convent. Eventually she calmed down enough to kiss him back. "Promise me that you'll wait." "For what?" "If we both are condemned, wait for me before... Before..." He knew what she was asking and kissed her again, both of them crying. "I promise. No matter how long I have to. I will."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang has encounter with the three brides.
> 
> POV switch between Jonathan, Mina, and a kind of collective perspective of Lucy's boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You think things were sad now. Just wait. It gets worse. So much worse.

In order to properly ambush Dracula, the group split up and took different routes to the castle. Van Helsing and Mina as one group, and Quincy, Arthur, Dr. Seward, and Jonathan as another. No one questioned the split. If anyone could keep Mina safe and subdued, it was Van Helping. And with multiple people to restrain Jonathan if he lost control, he would be fine. They divided their supplies, made travel plans, and set off. Jonathan and Mina shared a tearful kiss and wished each other good luck. They then went their respective ways in their carriages.

The group of men quickly decided that the best way to manage travel was to keep Jonathan inside with one of the others, with the remaining two driving in shifts. This worked for the first few days, but by the time a week had gone they all agreed that monitoring Jonathan was much too exhausting to truly rotate shifts. It wasn't anyone's fault per se, but as they grew closer to the castle, his behavior grew more violently erratic: there was no telling when he would slip into a vampiric episode, especially since the episodes progressively grew closer together. Short episodes, but still more frequent. They resolved to have the three driving in shifts while securing him inside, checking in constantly. That system worked much better, and even Jonathan's relapses spaced out.

Until the night before they were set to arrive at the castle.

They stopped for the night and started to unload when Jonathan suddenly tensed up. Everyone else stopped and looked at him nervously. After carefully setting down what was in his hands, he looked at them and said, "You have some of the communion wafers Van Helsing gave to you, right?" to Dr. Seward, who nodded. "Put them around us."

"What?" Jonathan shook his head, as if he was trying to clear it enough to find the right way to say it.

"They... they plan on coming here... soon. If there's a barrier with the wafers or something like it, they can't get to you."

"And what are you planning on doing?" Quincy asked.

"Lock me in the carriage with a rosary around the doors is probably the best idea." The three men looked at each other, then back to their friend. True, when he seemed to slip further away from humanity, he usually tried to do something physical, but nothing a push or a slap couldn't break him out of. If he said he needed to go to that extreme, something must be wrong. So they did what he asked them to and drew as large of a ring- or at least, what was supposed to be one; the final product was a bastard child of an oval and a square- around their little camp as possible and sprinkled the ground-up communion wafers and a few cloves of garlic in it. Jonathan in the meantime and finished unloading enough for him to be inside and shut himself in. Quincy walked up to it and tapped on the window before opening the door. 

"You sure you need to be in here?" Jonathan nodded.

"Yes. Much like with Mina, I can hear those women and what they want. And when they come here, they will most likely try to goad me into coming with them. Or worse." Quincey nodded and closed the door before wrapping his rosary around the handle. Going around to the other side, he died the small wooden cross Van Helsing left with them to the handle with some rope they used to secure their supplies. Then he went to the other two and kept a watch.

Mina screamed when the communion wafer was placed on her forehead and all but collapsed onto the snow. Van Helsing helped her stand up before seeing her point at the three women. He immediately threw her inside of the protective circle he had just finished and stood with one foot on either side of it, holding up his own cross. She whimpered fearfully as they appeared on the other side, laughing even more.

"Come with us sister!" they shrieked while he moved in front of her. "Come with us where you belong. He's waiting for his new beautiful bride!" 

Van Helsing swore in German and practically threw his makeshift torch at them. They laughed again, but this time less confidently. "Away! Go away and leave us alone!" They continued taunting the two in the circle until Mina stood up and went as close to the edge as she could. He tried to pull her back towards the center, but she shook him off with surprising strength.

"Did you not hear him?" she spat venomously. "Leave!" The women just tutted.

"Still looking out for her pet, how precious," the tallest one scolded. "Unfortunate how soon she will have to say goodbye." He stood next to her protectively at the taunts, and she held his arm.

"You aren't welcome here. Leave."

"A pity she won't come now and save him all of this trouble," the oldest one said offhandedly. "He will spare them if she leaves now." Mina bit her lip at that statement and looked at the doctor. He looked back and shook his head.

"You know what they try and make you do," he said quietly. "You know he will kill each and every one of us no matter where you go."

"No," the third one said and walked closer to her while the other two faded into the scenery. "Not all of you. He'll let us keep one of you. He's not the only one who gets to have all the fun." 

"Not while I stand here," Mina snarled. The girl shrugged.

"Oh, we can show you that what you do has nothing to do with what we get."

Jonathan let out a strangled moan from the carriage. Arthur walked up to it and looked in. He had put his head in his hands and started to shake. And while Arthur was watching, the shaking became convulsing, much like when Lucy had tried to struggle against him driving the stake through her heart. Arthur started to turn away when Jonathan made a series of garbled synonyms that sounded like either, "Stop talking to me!" or, "I don't want to!" He looked in the window again and gasped in horror.

"Jack! Quincy!" The other two men ran over to the carriage. "What do you-"

Then several things happened at once.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The question of just how close the Harker couple is to losing their humanity is answered. Hint: it's not very optimistic.

Several things happened at once.

The three friends heard the sound of cruel laughter and turned away from the carriage.

They didn't see Jonathan suddenly arch his back and grip his throat, head limply rolling to the side.

Van Helsing heard the horses and turned away from Mina.

He didn't see Mina's horrified expression, nor did he hear the vampire whisper, "Oh yes."

They stared in horror and bewilderment at the two vampire women standing just outside the circle. Jonathan started to breathe heavily and sensually, which fell on deaf ears.

Van Helsing swore again as the horses dropped dead. Mina's quick, angry breaths drew his attention to her, however.

The laughing grew louder, and Arthur had to be held back by the other two as he attempted to lunge at the women with a knife. Jonathan suddenly went completely still and opened his eyes.

The old man walked to the fuming young woman and quietly asked, "Mina. Mina, do not listen. She cannot hurt you if you do not hear," which made the vampire laugh even more. Mina's hands clenched into fists so tight her palms started to bleed as she glared daggers at the girl.

"Arthur, hey, Arthur!" Quincy hissed in his ear. "Listen to me! That's what they want! If you get close enough to skewer them, you're close enough to grab, and we don't need that!" That got Arthur to calm down slightly, but he continued to struggle.

"Mina. Walk away, Mina." She didn't seem to hear, so he grabbed her arm. She pushed him to the ground.

"You," she growled. "Will. Not. Have. A. Reward. From. Us." The girl just smiled.

Jonathan sat up straight in the carriage. He was trapped in there. No one would let him out because he told them to. Well, now he wanted out, needed out. He reached for the door and felt his hand burn. He touched the glass. Burned. They were talking to him again, and he couldn't stop himself from listening. He didn't want to.

"Why?" she asked with fake innocence. "Why wouldn't we?"

He knew they could help him even if they couldn't come. They could melt the rosary on the door, even with the barriers. They could do that. They could get him out. They asked him if he wanted out of the carriage and he very much did, he was trapped he needed out he couldn't be in there. They said they will and he needs to be at the window when they do, so he pressed himself against it.

An ear-splitting scream emitted from the carriage.

Van Helsing jumped at the scream, put two and two together, and shook his head. He stood up and almost touched Mina again, but decided it was better not to. Not when she was angry. 

"You think you are the one he will always follow? You think that he will not drop everything when we tell him? You think that you can even begin to satisfy him after he has been with us?" The girl laughed, a cruel smile twisted her once-beautiful features. "You foolish girl! He is our gift, and you cannot stop us from having him?"

"He. Is. My. HUSBAND!" Mina screamed, vibrating with anger. "Do you think that I will not go through hell to keep him with me? Do you think that he did not go through hell just to see me again? And you think that we are not here because we both are going through hell and will stop at nothing to pull the other out of it?"

The three turned and saw him slam his face into the window, face screwed up in pain and screaming. They also saw the rosary melt to where it was so soft it fell off the handle. Arthur and Quincy made their way towards it, but not in time to stop him from practically breaking the door open, glassy eyed filled with a feral rage. 

He was out. He was out, he knew that. But his head wasn't clear. It was full of the women laughing and he didn't want that he just wanted everything to be quiet. He heard people- Arthur and Quincy?- walking towards him and saying things that blurred together, and when he looked they also blurred together. So he backed away and pushed at them when they came close and stumbled away. They said more things, but he shook his head frantically and moved back again. He couldn't hear them. He didn't want to hear them. 

Dr. Seward recognized his behavior and grabbed Arthur and Quincey, pulling them back. "Do you want him to lunge at your throats?" he hissed. "Because that's a very good chance if you do. Let me calm him down, then you can restrain him!"

Jonathan hear someone walking up, but it was slower, more careful. He could feel the rosary on the neck and whimpered. But he could heard the nervous heartbeat and smell the blood moving with it, and he went back to how he was the night he jumped at Mina.

Dr. Seward heard the whimpering, but he also saw the feral desire in his eyes and slowed down. He had enough experience with normal lunatics, not to mention Renfield, to recognize when someone wanted to lunge at your throat. So instead he whispered, "Jonathan. Can you hear me?" and took a step. He tensed up but appeared to understand the question. "Can you hear me?" he asked again, earning a weak nod in response. "Are you scared?" Another weak nod. He took another step. "Jonathan, I need you to come back to the carriage." He frantically shook his head, tears starting to fill his eyes. "Why not?" He shakily pointed behind him, and Dr. Seward saw the women when he choked out they, "Won't...let me."

The young girl threw her head back and laughed. Mina growled low in her throats before screaming, "LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO AND LEAVE!" as loud as she could. Van Helsing covered his ears and winced.

Jonathan's head suddenly cleared, and he dropped to his knees. Mina told them to let him go, and they obeyed. He knew that. He could hear her screaming inside his head, and she was furious. Good. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked down only to gasp in horror. One of his hands had landed outside the circle, and before he could take it back the third girl appeared and dragged him out of it.

Mina was still shaking after the girl vanished. She felt exhausted and angry. Van Helsing hugged her tightly.

Dr. Seward ran after him, flinging the small vial of holy water he had at them. The women let go of Jonathan, and he crawled to him and stood up. Dr. Seward pushed him to the circle, and he ran to it. He almost managed to grab Quincy's hand when the women grabbed him and vanished, leaving nothing but laughter and a wedding ring in their wake.

Mina sobbed and fell to her knees, clutching her left hand to her chest. Her sobs turned into screams turned into sobs, and Van Helsing kneeled next to her.

"What is wrong, dear Mina?"

"They took him," she mumbled numbly. "They took my Jonathan. He tried his best to get away from them, but-" She clutched her left hand tighter. "They took him."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's really hard to go kill vampires when you have to stop Mina Harker from cutting a bitch and maybe getting herself killed in the process.
> 
> Or, Van Helping has to deal with killing the three women, rescuing Jonathan, AND keeping a royally pissed Mina away from the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have you all know that this idea was in my head for a long time and has nothing to do with the fact that I'm writing this chapter while having a Let's Play of Doki Doki Literature Club on in the background. I'm just in the mood to experience people witnessing horrific things, and I don't see why my background noise can't either.
> 
> Plus, it's fun watching people react to everything that happens when you know what's coming up.

Van Helsing sait next to Mina while she slowly but surely came down from the sobbing breakdown after realizing Jonathan was taken. He never liked seeing people in pain, especially involving their loved ones, and especially when he personally knew both parties. It always hurt his heart. He'd come to terms with his own pain and it's inevitability a long time ago, but he made sure that he would do everything in his power to alleviate or prevent the suffering of others.

Eventually, he wrapped an arm around her as her sobs died down into small, quiet gasping breaths. He quietly whispered, "We will get him back." Mina nodded. "I mean it. We will."

"I know." The way she said it didn't sound like she felt reassured. It sounded like a threat. The hard glare in her eyes while she slowly stopped crying altogether confirmed that thought.

"You should not come with me."

"Try to stop me." The way she said it made him very much not want to. Unfortunately...

"Mina. In any other circumstance, I would say come. Come with me to find him. But this is not one such occasion. Please do not think I am trying to prevent you from helping. I want you very much to be helping."

"Then why are you telling me not to go?"

"These women, these creatures will not let him go without fighting."

"You think I won't fight?" she spat.

"Believe me, I know you will fight more fiercely than the rest of us combined. But you should not be fighting here."

"Give me one good reason why."

"This is their territory, Mina. Not yours. They know where they go and what they do much better than you will. If you step in there and say, 'Give me Jonathan,' they will destroy you before you have the chance to step foot in the castle. And with you in such a vulnerable state, so desperate to save your husband and end his suffering, with the blood of vampires so close to consuming you. Step foot in that castle and you will not be coming out. If they do not overpower you because of the territory, they will corrupt you until you are truly one of them. Already you are too close to that, much closer even than your Jonathan, though he drank their blood long before you did. If you truly want to save Jonathan, do not go to the castle to take him. If you do, they will make sure he sees your destruction. If he is not too close to the edge now, he will be far gone past that edge at seeing you lost forever. He will be crushed and destroyed, and then all will be lost for us when the Count arrives. He needs you gone for him to be won, and Jonathan will fight tooth and claw and nail for you to not fall into his grasp until either he is destroyed or you fall. We cannot win this without you and Jonathan. Stay here, Mina. Stay here for you, for you so beloved husband, for us. Yes, fight, yes, win, yes, save your Jonathan. But not now." He held his breath in anticipation. Hopefully he wouldn't have to resort to more aggressive measures to keep her away.

Mina looked thoughtfully at her clenched hands and flattened them. The dried blood caking her palms formed a trail down to drying chunks in her nail beds, in her cuticles. She clenched and unclenched her jaw; Van Helsing could practically hear her teeth grinding together. Eventually, she looked up. He already knew her answer and stood up. She started to get up, but he put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her down before stepping over the edge of the circle. She staggered up and ran to the side he stood at and started to sob again; hot, angry, desperate tears streamed from her eyes, and the few the fell on her hands created entirely new streaks.

"Let me come with you!"

"I'm sorry." He started to walk away. Her sobs grew in intensity.

"Dr. Van Helsing!" She screamed. He kept walking. She kept screaming at him until he could no longer hear them. Finally, he arrived at the castle and steeled himself. He was going in alone. He might come out alone as well.

He took a breath.

He walked in.

Jonathan groggily opened his eyes. Something smooth bound his wrists to whatever was keeping his arms spread apart. His head hurt. Everything hurt. His dry tongue grated against his chapped lips in an attempt to give them some moisture. His vision eventually focused enough for him to see the large bed across the room from him, as well as the three figures reclining on it. He knew this room. The room he was confined to after his first attack. The room he escaped from, delirious and weak and desperate to just experience some form of light, of warmth, something that wasn't dark or cold or death. And now he was trapped here again. He rubbed his left ring finger against the middle one; bare skin against bare skin, which means his ring had been taken. The ring that he often used to ground himself when Mina was unavailable. The ring that he exchanged with Mina at their wedding. His ring. He let out a defeated whimper and lowered his head.

Three bodies shifted on the bed, and three voices let out airy, seductive laughs. He ignored the pull towards those voices and stared at the stone floor as the blurriness finally left his vision. He heard them walking towards him. He kept his head down and closed his eyes. He cracked them open when cold fingers gripped his chin and held it up; a scarlet mouth bared its teeth in a mockery of a smile. The claw gripping his cheeks forced his lips to part, but they quickly opened into a scream when a pair of extremely sharp teeth pierced the small vein in his wrist. The scream increased in volume and intensity when a second pair bit down on the base of his neck. Something was wrong, however, because almost as soon at the teeth bit down, they let go with disgusted snarls.

"Almost one of us," one spat. "Not worth it."

His head was dropped unceremoniously, and they walked back to the bed. He stared at the floor. He knew why he was here. He was the bait. He was the second best way to get Mina. Get him, they get her. And she would do it if given the opportunity; his wife would try to save him if given the chance, and here he was being used to bring her into the Count's clutches. The devoted husband being used to take his wife from him. How lovely.

A few tears fell from his eyes and hit the dusty floor. His vision blurred as the hotness of the tears burned his eyes and cheeks. Not this.

Anything but this.

Van Helsing killed the women easily. When sleeping, vampires were just as vulnerable as humans. Some comfort rested in that. And now for Jonathan.

Surprisingly, Jonathan was easy to find. Maybe it was the fact that he detailed how he found the women. Regardless, the doctor found him in the same room he said he first encountered the women in, and he was very much worse for wear. Some form of silk cloth bound his arms above his head, and he all but hung limply from them. A steadily growing pool of blood formed at his feet, and really the only indication that he was even alive was the- albeit pale- color in his cheeks and his short, shallow breaths. Alive. Good. He went to the unfortunate prisoner and placed the severed heads down before walking up to him.

Jonathan raised his head a little when he was close and smiled weakly. "Dr. Van Helsing," he slurred. "I tried. I really tried..." he screwed his eyes with the effort of talking coherently while Van Helsing put makeshift bandages on the bleeding places. "They... too fast... only me, though." He finished stopping the blood and tilted Jonathan's head towards him to check his vital signs. Alive, but barely.

"Oh Jonathan," he muttered sadly while moving to the wrists. "What did they do."

"Wish I knew." He noticed the heads on the floor. "Said I was... to close... my blood wasn't..." A tear threatened to roll down his cheek, and his face screwed up in pain. Van Helsing wiped it and didn't mention the heat of the tear.

"Your blood wasn't what?"

"I'm too close. Something in my blood... too close..." One hand free. Jonathan dropped more but slowly managed to get into a somewhat standing position while Van Helsing moved to the other arm. He leaned against the wall and looked at the doctor. "Was Lucy..." The rest of that question hung in the air. It didn't have to be answered, either. He groaned pathetically as his other arm was released. Van Helsing picked the heads up then put one of Jonathan's arms around his shoulder.

"Come, Jonathan. Back to Mina."

Mina looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and gasped. Van Helsing came back. He came back with Jonathan.

Jonathan. He looked terrible. He was practically being carried from the castle, and he didn't even look conscious. But he was here. Her Jonathan had been rescued and he wasn't past saving if he was here. That's all that mattered.

When Van Helsing drew close to the circle, Jonathan whimpered. He patted his cheek and muttered, "Don't worry, don't worry, it's not for long," and used his leg to scratch out a good portion of it. Mina immediately ran and pulled her husband off of him. He fell into her arms and almost made her fall over with his sheer dead weight. Van Helsing re-drew the circle and applied the previous safeguards, but she didn't pay attention. She had Jonathan. He groaned and cracked his eyes open. She leaned in- please don't be like the last time this happened- to make sure he could see her. His eyes widened, and he weakly gripped the back of her head.

"Mina," he breathed. She smiled tearfully and kissed him full on the lips. He was so weak. He still managed to kiss back as passionately as she was, and they both pulled the other into a tight knot. Van Helsing finished and stepped inside, gently tapping Mina's shoulder. She looked up at him with new tears running down her cheeks, stroking her husband's jaw.

"What?" He looked at her with a pained expression and repeated what Jonathan said. She looked between the two. "Oh."

"I'm sorry."

Mina shook her head and looked lovingly at Jonathan, who had closed his eyes again and loosely held her arms. She moved her hand to his cheek. Then she kissed him again, with a weak response. Now there wasn't any time. He most likely wouldn't last through the next day unless they found a way to end this. Until then, she would stay with him. Hopefully they could make it.

"Mina," he breathed again. She kissed him again.

"It'll be over soon."

"They... they took my ring..." She looked down on his left hand and saw it was bare. "I'm-I'm sorry." She held the ringless hand and kissed the inside of his wrist. "I'm sorry."

"You're here. That's all that matters."

"Not for long. I'm... I'm almost-"

"No. Not until God himself turns His back on us. Not until then." She brushed his feverish forehead. "Get some sleep now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all of Van Helsing's grammatical usage is book compliant bc he tries but he can't fully properly English. And we love him for it.
> 
> I'll have you all know that I made a Dracula roleplay blog on Tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jonathanandmina). I'd appreciate it if you followed it because it actually takes a lot of work to not screw up the timeline that's already screwed up.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dracula dies, some (key word, SOME) of the movie's ending goes down, and now the gang has to deal with two brand-new vampires who frankly were hoping for a different outcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter was Doki Doki, this chapter is TBFQOTY, Nostalgia Critic, and the Dom. So now Dark fan fiction becomes written with comedy in the background. I have no idea how my chapter notes became me letting y'all know what I'm listening to while I write these, but they have. Also, I tried out a different format when making paragraphs. Please let me know how you think it works!

Mina woke up and gently untangled herself from her husband, walking to the edge of the circle where Van Helsing stood on the other side. They didn't say anything; they didn't need to. He reached across the circle and patted it in a consoling gesture before walking off to... do something in the castle. She sighed and sat back down next to Jonathan; his hair had changed from steel-grey to snow-white, and now it hardly stood out against the snow. If anything was an outward sign of everything they were going through, his hair was the most prominent.

He stirred, then opened his eyes. She gave a tight smile, which he returned. He held her hand and rubbed the back of it. Her gentle husband. Giving her as much comfort as he could while going through Hell himself. Even when both of them were on the same path through the inferno.

"Today's the day," he murmured. She nodded.

"The day of our release."

"Hopefully."

"Don't say that. Please."

"If we're damned," Mina made a face, but he continued, "I said if. But if we're damned, what are we going to do?"

"...I don't know. Dr. Van Helsing told me that he would kill us, if it came to it." His expression darkened. "Darling, what other choices do we have? Live- if you can even call it living- as creatures doomed to consume the blood of the living and confined to the darkness? We can't do that. You know we wouldn't be able to continue like that. I know you would rather die than allow me to be hurt, but we should die together rather than apart or live together as monsters. For me, if for nothing else, promise me that you'll carry through with this." He slowly nodded.

"Only for you, Mina." She kissed his forehead.

"Thank you."

The weakness Jonathan experienced the night before had gone entirely. In fact, he felt invigorated. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they would be confronting the Count. Maybe the weakness was only the influence of those women. Regardless, he was ready. When Van Helsing came back, they agreed that the circle's protection was unnecessary, for which the couple was very grateful. Jonathan expressed his desire to be with the other three, which Mina protested and Van Helsing approved. Eventually Mina was won over. They waited until a carriage was sighted in the very distance; Jonathan then kissed Mina goodbye and ran to the castle to meet the others.

The fight was surprisingly short. The most difficult part was getting through the minions Dracula employed. Eventually Jonathan did, with Quincey right behind him. They ripped the lid of the box open, and Jonathan looked directly into the count's eyes while pulling his knife out. The Count's vicious self-satisfied grin never left his face as Jonathan decapitated him, but he didn't care. He saw Quincey plunge his knife deep into his chest out of the corner of his mouth and breathed a sigh of relief. Over. It was over. They won. As they staggered away from the carriage, he barely paid attention to the peasants riding away without another word or the fact that Quincey was dying from his wounds. He sank onto his knees and closed his eyes.

Arthur sat down next to him and put something into his hand. He opened his eyes and looked. His ring. He looked at Arthur, who smiled. Then, he hugged him tightly.

Or at least, he tried to.

Mina had started running towards them with Van Helsing right behind her as soon as the fight was over. She was halfway there when she heard the scream and saw Jonathan crumple on the ground, as well as Arthur all but leap away from him and Dr. Seward turn around.

She ran faster.

Jonathan's vision completely white from the pain as he fell on his back and screamed. As it came back, he gasped and wheezed and stared at the sky blankly. It didn't work. He was still on the path to damnation.

"No," he muttered in between the gasps that were dying down. "No no no no no. Please no." He heard running footsteps, and then Mina was leaning over him. She tapped his face, and he held her arm with his ringed hand.

"It didn't work," he said, trying not to cry. She nodded, tears falling down her face. Red tears.

"I know," she sobbed. More tears. Red. The color of-

He reached out and touched them before showing her. Now he was crying, probably the same thing.

She gasped, then started to scream. Hopeless, frightened screams. Van Helsing knelt next to them, saw what happened, and sighed. Mina buried her face in Jonathan's chest, and he ran his fingers through her hair. He looked at Van Helsing.

"What happens now?" he asked.

From the Doctor's expression, he was thinking the same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBFQOTY is The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year. It's a British game show where a group of famous people in Britain (they sometimes get Americans) does trivia about things that have happened during the year. It's absolutely hilarious.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All things come to an end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad I'm allowed to vent my Dracula feels in the form of fan fiction, and even more glad that people are leaving Kudos!

Once the young couple calmed down, every else sat down near them. There was a long, awkward silence. No one wanted to break that silence. Eventually, however, Mina decided to break it with the lingering question:

"How long should we wait?" Everyone stared at her, then each other, then her again.

"Wait?" Dr. Seward eventually asked.

"We should try to find a way to fix this. But if we don't..." she trailed off with a shaky breath, and Jonathan ground his teeth together. She took another breath, and continued, "If we don't, we will have to... eliminate the... the... us."

More silence. This time everyone avoided eye contact. The question hung in the air.

"One week," Van Helping finally murmured. "One week to find a solution. If none is found, we will go through with our promise." Jonathan gripped Mina's hand as tightly as he could. She squeezed it back. Everyone else agreed to wait the week. A timid optimism hung in the air as they made preparations for camp. The couple patiently waited while a consecrated circle was prepared, then they sat as close to the edge as they could with the others for dinner. Neither one of them touched a thing.

Sunday evening. The last day. And no one had any ideas.

Jonathan didn't even look up at Van Helisng when he came to tell them the news. He didn't need any reason to. He just held his knees and stared at the snow. Not a bad place to die, all things considering. He heard the Doctor explain to Mina what they came to; he heard her shaky breath and the snow crunching underneath her feet before feeling her hand on his shoulder. It no longer felt warm through his clothes. More like ice seeping through an unprotected spot. He looked at her. To memorize her features. Sunken-in cheekbones, dark circles under her cold eyes, sharp teeth barely visible from under her parted lips. Almost like a corpse. Pale skin, crimson lips, dark flowing hair glittering with the snowflakes littering it. Absolutely beautiful. He took her icy hand in his own and pressed it to his lips. She smiled a sweet, sad smile as a thin crimson line trailed from her eyes and down her cheek. He felt his own cheeks growing wet and smiled at his wife. She coaxed him to his feet, and he cupped her face in his hands.

"I love you. More than anything in the world."

"I love you." She moved her hands and pulled something out of the folds of her coat; Jonathan looked down and saw a small knife. They made eye contact. He nodded.

"Do it," he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this! I love you! (this chapter was written while watching 8 out of 10 cats)


End file.
